Police and firefighters step in to take missing dads' places for father-daughter dance

The daughters of absent fathers weren’t left out at a dance in Salt Lake City, Utah. Police officers and firefighters were in attendance to dance with the daughters of fathers who couldn’t make it or are not around.

“When I came walking in here, I saw these little girls and it reminded me of when I took my little girls,” Sgt. Darren Carr told WAFF 48.

The girls were particularly amused by the hula-hooping contest between their dads, the police, and the firemen.

“We didn’t want anyone feeling left out,” said Carr. “Sometimes we see these kids in less-than-desirable circumstances, unfortunately, so it’s nice to have a better, more fun interaction.”

Scenes like this, however, could soon be a thing of the past. Concerns are rising that father-daughter dances will be canceled to conform with new gender policies.

A dance at a Staten Island elementary school was supposed to be canceled, but after the school was given guidance to let anyone attend, the event went ahead. The New York Department of Education had ordered schools to “eliminate” any gender-specific events.

A memorandum from July 2015 lays out the policy: “Gender-based policies, rules, and practices can have the effect of marginalizing, stigmatizing, stereotyping and excluding students, whether they are transgender or GNC [gender nonconforming] or not. For these reasons, school districts should consult with their attorneys to review such policies, rules and practices, and should eliminate any that do not serve a clear pedagogical purpose.”

“This politically correct stuff has got to stop,” Thomas Tirotta, 43, told the New York Post. Tirotta took his 10-year-old daughter, Lila, to the dance at PS 38 on Staten Island this past Friday night.

“It’s something that’s been around for a long time,” Tirotta said. “Let the people enjoy it, and if you don’t like it, don’t go.”

“We are sending a reminder to schools about the guidelines that are in place to ensure school-related events are inclusive of all students and families,” a DOE representative, Miranda Barbot, told the Post.

Schools have complied in either changing the name of the dances or holding them outside of school grounds.

“They’re trying to take away from the dads, from the good fathers. … It’s all political now,” Raul Mejia told the Post. Mejia added that he believes events like this serve as a good example to girls about how men should behave. “I want to start her young,” said Mejia, “so she can know how a guy is supposed to treat her.”